bjay wrote:
Quote:

OneSkirt wrote:
Questions:

Why is he NOT indicted for Speeding, Reckless Driving AND Manslaughter?

There's a distinction between the summonses that were issued right away for the traffic violations, and the criminal charges brought in the indictment by the grand jury.

In the first category, the newspaper story says: "Following the April 19 accident, Spolizino ... was issued summonses for speeding, careless driving, no vehicle inspection sticker and failure to wear a seat belt."

In the second category (the criminal charges), the story says that Spolizino "has been indicted by a grand jury on three charges including aggravated manslaughter..... a death by auto charge and one of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death...."

The Jersey Journal wrote:
The Jersey Journal sought recordings of 911 calls made immediately after the April 19 incident, but was rebuffed by city officials who said the calls were not public records. The paper is contesting that decision.

OneSkirt wrote:
Questions:

Why is he NOT indicted for Speeding, Reckless Driving AND Manslaughter?

OneSkirt wrote:
The indictment has come down.

But here's the weird thing about this per a neighbor of mine, with which I agree.

Questions:

Why is he NOT indicted for Speeding, Reckless Driving AND Manslaughter?

Contrast this with the speed with which the authorities acted after the accident that killed the infant. It was announced by the same sheriff's department that is responsible for the same county street, the very same day, that the jitney driver

"Idowu Daramola, 48, of New York, is being issued summonses for reckless driving and for using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle, but he is being booked on the criminal offense of death by auto, a crime carrying a possible prison term of five to 10 years upon conviction, Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari told The Jersey Journal."

Vigilante wrote:
Again and again I tell people who don't live here that living in Jersey City is like being in one of those Sidney Lumet films of the 1970's and 80's. The corrupt politicians, the cops, some good, some terrible. The lack of response to public inquiry. The "Don't worry about it" attitudes. The lax city services and no-show jobs. And of course, the bags of money being passed off in crappy parking lots by odd-shaped cronies in ill-fitting shirts and ties.

OneSkirt wrote:
Quote:

JamesBeard wrote:
Witness in pedestrian death by auto calls for independent investigation

?Although I saw multiple people present, the public statement from the [Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey] says that the sole eyewitness they interviewed did not give a name or address,?

In response to Harkins? claim that he and other witnesses have not been contacted, Nalbach said, ?We don?t know Joe Harkins from a hole in the wall. I?m sorry that Mr. Harkins feels the way that he does. There are a lot of rumors out there, but they don?t jibe with what we know. We don?t have any other witnesses, other than a man [interviewed at the scene] who did not want to give his name or address.?

Read more: Hudson Reporter - Witness in pedestrian death by auto calls for independent investigation

Go Joe!Ok, maybe the cop wasn't drinking. But a man was killed. And he was thrown about half a block with no skid marks...on a road that has a 25mph limit. No doubt about it the driver was speeding. Also, note that no summons was issued at all. This is outrageous. The victim lived in my building. This needs a proper investigation and if JCPD has nothing to hide, let an outside reputable agency do it to show they have nothing to hide.

Deputy Police Chief Nalbach offers yet one more reason why an independent investigation is necessary when he states, "In response to Harkins? claim that he and other witnesses have not been contacted, . . . . We don?t know Joe Harkins from a hole in the wall."

That ignorance can only be either deliberate or or incompetent; possibly even both. Exactly how hard am I to find?

I was born in Jersey City more than 80 years ago. My family on both sides (and very large families, too in the Irish tradition of the time) has been here 3 generations. My phone number is listed. I am a registered voter. I have lived at this same address, a short walk from Police HQ for many years. Only 3 weeks ago, I had a long, pleasant and mutually supportive phone conversation, and an email exchange, with one the highest ranking officers in the department on a subject of mutual interest. My statements of facts that the vehicle did not stop at the scene within my view, were made in front of the JC City Council at a public meeting where my name and address are publicly registered and I am known to at least 5 of those Council members and by the Mayor who married me and my wife not so very long ago. I am the Committeeman for Ward B, District 2.

Did DPC Nalbach even ask the reporter for my phone number or email address?

Yet, the Deputy Police Chief, an official one would expect has virtually instant access to that information and more, does not know how to find me. Or, if he does, he has not.

I do understand that the initial reaction is defensive of the department. But I repeat that the best way of defending the good reputation of the JCPD is to invite an independent investigation, free of suspicion of obfuscation or bias, where one of their own is involved.

Therefore, by the time this response appears in public, I will have sent a request to the Office of the Attorney General of the State of NJ that an independent investigation be launched that will reveal the unbiased truth about this tragedy

JamesBeard wrote:
Witness in pedestrian death by auto calls for independent investigation

?Although I saw multiple people present, the public statement from the [Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey] says that the sole eyewitness they interviewed did not give a name or address,?

In response to Harkins? claim that he and other witnesses have not been contacted, Nalbach said, ?We don?t know Joe Harkins from a hole in the wall. I?m sorry that Mr. Harkins feels the way that he does. There are a lot of rumors out there, but they don?t jibe with what we know. We don?t have any other witnesses, other than a man [interviewed at the scene] who did not want to give his name or address.?

Read more: Hudson Reporter - Witness in pedestrian death by auto calls for independent investigation

user1111 wrote:
Comey said there was no indication that Spolizino was under the influence of alcohol or any other substance and that a sobriety test was not administered.

OneSkirt wrote:
Also, in reading the article again and in talking to neighbors, I cannot tell if the light was green in favor of the direction the pedestrian was crossing, or against him. See below & tell me what this means:

"A witness, who did not give his name, told responding police officers that Clifford "was crossing (Kennedy Boulevard) while the light was green, hesitated, then darted across and was struck by the vehicle," according to the accident report."

In learning more from some eye-witnesses, the victim was launched/pushed almost half a block down JFK and the driver did not stop. PErhaps he did return to the scene - but it is not yet clear or been reported as such. Which makes me think this whole thing smells doubly bad. The driver got no alcohol test, nor any summons. WTF??

Given the trajectory/distance that the victim traveled, how could this driver have been going 25mph or less? He had to be speeding. And also, as mentioned above - did the driver run a red light, or was the light green for him and the pedestrian jay-walked?

Like others said, crime is crime no matter who does it. It may very well have been an "accident" but all accidents need to get the same thorough investigation, no matter who the perp is. I love good cops. But justice needs to be served here.

I've also just learned that this victim lived in my building. Heartbreaking. Young guy just out of law school at his first big job trying to get his promising law career going.

Comey said there was no indication that Spolizino was under the influence of alcohol or any other substance and that a sobriety test was not administered.

A witness, who did not give his name, told responding police officers that Clifford "was crossing (Kennedy Boulevard) while the light was green, hesitated, then darted across and was struck by the vehicle," according to the accident report.

Spolizino, who was driving a 2005 Chevrolet, told officers at the scene that he did not see Clifford crossing the street and that Clifford "came out of nowhere," the accident report said..